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	Stream Connectivity Surveys by Mike Young During the past few months I've spent a fair amount of time, often in the company of another WRWA volunteer, surveying some of the culverts and bridges that allow local streams to flow beneath our roadways. Along the way I've discovered an abandoned stone arch railroad bridge alongside the Shaker Farms Country Club in Southwick, several patches of poison ivy, and some truly scenic spots in Russell and Chester. The goal of these surveys is to assess the extent to which the structures might impede the movement of fish and other wildlife along stream corridors within the Watershed. Surveyors fill out a brief survey form to record relevant characteristics of the bridge or culvert, make appropriate measurements, and take photographs. In most cases, the process takes about 10-15 minutes for each site. The is a joint project between the Massachusetts Riverways program, The Nature Conservancy and WRWA, and we've held several training sessions for potential volunteers over the past year and a half, including two sessions last June (led by Carrie Banks of Riverways and Alison Bowden of TNC). The data we collect will help project partners make good decisions about which structures to focus our remediation or replacement efforts on. As of early November, we've now completed surveys for about half of the 1000 structures in the watershed! Although we're basically done for this year, we hope to finish this project off next summer and fall. If getting out into some of the upper portions of the watershed while contributing to a worthwhile project sounds good to you, please let me know (via phone, 413-572-5741, or email to myoung@wsc.ma.edu). I'll add you to my list of people to contact next year when we get started again. In the meantime I'd like to thank the volunteers who've participated in the surveys this past summer and fall: Marilyn Bekech, Kirsten Brobeck, Mark Damon, Walter and Carol Grochmal, Tracy Hyde, Liz Lacy, Marj Lehan, Larry Myers-McElwee, Leon Pothier, Beth Rothermel, Alex Trzasko, Henry Warchol, and Stanley Warren - your efforts are deeply appreciated, and I'm hoping that many of you will be interested in helping out again next year!